National Flour Mills Limited (NFM) commenced trading activities in 1966 as Trinidad Flour Mills which was then owned and operated by a group of local and foreign shareholders.
NFM was incorporated on September 30, 1972, with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago holding the majority of the issued share capital; minority holdings were held by two foreign investors - Inter Continental Grain Company and Maple Leaf Limited.
The shareholdings of these two foreign investors were purchased by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago in 1980, thus NFM became a wholly owned State Enterprise.
In 1995 NFM became a Public Limited Liability Company when its shares were sold on the open market and listed on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange. To date, 49% of its shareholding is owned by the public and 51% by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Over the years, National Flour Mills Limited has expanded its operations in several areas:
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1983 - Acquired Trinidad Grain Terminal with 50 employees. This company was involved in the storage and distribution of corn and the importation of soyabean meal.
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1984 - Assumed management control of the National Feed Mill Limited, which was insolvent with a negative net worth of $2.7M. The company was acquired in January 1987 at a cost of $689,000.00, thereby becoming a wholly owned subsidiary. In 1999, after a corporate reorganization, the National Feed Mills became the Feed Poultry and Livestock Division of NFM.
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1985 - Leased the local rice milling operation at Carlsen Field through a lease facility with the Ministry of Agriculture. The Company was also granted the monopoly for the importation of all rice for local consumption. However, with trade liberalization this facility has been removed.
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1987 - The Company's Soyabean Crushing Plant and Refinery began commercial operations. This facility represented a $40M investment for the Company. Operations at this facility were discontinued in 2006.
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1988 - A Hydrogenation Plant and a Bottling Facility were commissioned for the manufacture and sale of hydrogenated and bottled oil. Operations at this facility were discontinued in 2006.
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1992 - The Company increased its onsite storage capacity by 25,000 MT with the construction of additional concrete silos.
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1995 - The Company became a Public Limited Liability Company when its shares were listed on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange. Currently, 49% of its shareholding is owned by the Public and 51% by National Enterprises Limited, which itself is a publicly listed company.
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1996 - Became ISO Certified.
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1999 - A new state-of-the-art Feed Milling Plant was established and incorporated into the operations of National Flour Mills Limited.
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2002 – Acquisition of the Dry Mix operations of Nabisco Royal Incorporated. The entire Lion Brand and Royal Brand Product portfolios were acquired. After 2 years the Royal Brand was changed to Lotus.
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2003 - Obtained distribution rights for SAF Brand of Instant Yeast.
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2004 – Obtained distribution rights for Akbar tea. This was discontinued in 2006.
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2004 – Became HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) Certified.
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2006 – A new state-of-the-art Flour Mill was commissioned.
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2007 – The Food Import Initiative was implemented.
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2008 – This included the importation of an assortment of cereals, an assortment of juices, condensed milk, evaporated milk, and sardines in oil and water. Several Warehouse Sales were held throughout the year to sell these items to consumers at reduced prices.
TYPE OF BUSINESS
NFM is “So much more than flour”. Our business activities are:
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Flour Milling and Packaging
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Rice Milling and Packaging
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Dry Mix Blending and Packaging
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Animal Feed Production and Packaging
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Distributors of bulk corn / bulk Soyabean Meal / Wheat Middling
Products are marketed under eight brands namely:
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Lotus
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Ibis
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good N’ natural
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Lion
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National
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Hibiscus
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Winner’s Choice
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Command Performance
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Invlovement is the ingredient that sets one company apart from its peers. NFM's influence in the daily lives of every citizen of Trinidad and Tobago is not confined to meal time. in keeping with our core value of being a good corporate citizen, the company continues to play an important role in assisting the community at large via its products donations to community projects, culinary programmes, schools, sports and cultural events.
Our role as a socially responsible company also extends to the more vulnerable among us, as we attempt to respond as far as possible to the many requests of charitable organisations, shelters and homes, providing them with products and other support with which to conduct their daily affairs.